Email marketing is a powerful channel to market your business to new and past customers. But it is important to take a look at the big picture when it comes to marketing your business.
Making a sale isn’t as easy as sending out one newsletter and expecting it to bring in sales immediately. You have to play the long game and come at it from multiple channels.
A Multi-Channel Approach
In my experience, taking a multi-channel approach to marketing is key to success. Think about some of the purchases you yourself have made lately. Why did you choose the vendor you did?
Last year I read a biography called The Magnolia Story. If you’re familiar with HGTV, you’ve probably heard of Chip and Joanna Gaines. It took more than watching the show Fixer Upper for me to decide to buy their book.
Over the course of the last year, I’ve received numerous emails from Magnolia Homes. I read their blog, I follow them on Twitter and Instagram. They are in magazines I subscribe to. I even have used some of Joanna’s paint colors to inspire the new home we built last year. Their brand has infiltrated my life.
My point is, to have the biggest impact on a customer, consider looking at marketing from multiple channels. The more you are in your customer’s life, the more likely they will think of you first when they want to make a purchase. We buy from those we are the most familiar with in many cases.
I bought The Magnolia Story because I love everything they have shared with me in the past. I believe they are a genuine, honest couple and that resonates with me and thousands of others.
People can’t get to know your brand if you’re only sending out one email occasionally.
Smart Content Marketing
You don’t need to have a big team by your side to have a strong brand presence.
Here are some tips to make the most of your content:
- Re-use content for print, web, email and social media marketing.
- Share it more than once, especially on social media. Content only shows up in feeds for a short time. Share updates at different times and days.
- Be consistent. Setup a schedule so there is direct communication with your audience every week, if not daily.
- Take advantage of user generated content in your marketing efforts. Share good reviews often, on multiple channels. Respond to negative feedback publicly and quickly.
- Don’t over promise. If you try to do too much and you can’t follow-through your audience will take notice. Start small and automate your efforts as much as possible. Smart content marketing isn’t about quantity anymore, it’s about reach and the authenticity of your content.
Understanding Who You Are
The key ingredient in successful marketing is having a well defined brand.
Answer the below questions and make sure the content you are publishing is inline with what you stand for and how you want to be perceived.
- Who are you as an organization? What are your values?
- What problems do you help your customers solve with your products or services?
- How do you your customers feel after they buy from you (ask them)? How do you want them to feel?
- What personality do you want your business to portray? (funny, serious, professional, creative, family-centric)
If you can’t answer those questions, take some time to address them. Meet with your team and ask for their input. Understanding who you are as a team, but also who you want to be will help you shape your content marketing efforts.
A single pronged approach with online marketing will only get you so far. Be everywhere your customers are. Make sure they hear from you on multi-channels often. When you continue to expand your reach you’ll also expand your business.
Happy emailing! (and beyond…)
